Posted on 09/14/2015 4:45:02 PM PDT by don-o
WACO (September 14, 2015) A Dallas lawyer who is representing a Hewitt man in connection with the Twin Peaks biker gang shootings has filed a brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeking the nullification of a gag order in the case.
F. Clinton Broden, who represents Matthew Alan Clendennen, a Hewitt businessman who was arrested on the day of the shootings that left nine dead and 20 injured, is asking the court to reverse its decision to stay the issue and order the gag rule lifted.
Broden cites several issues in his brief, including that the 54th District Court did not have the proper jurisdiction to issue the gag order in the first place.
Broden also says the gag order does not list specific issues and is too broad and not workable, according to his petition.
The brief was filed in the state court in Austin on Monday, a news release from Broden's office says.
In general, the brief asks the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to set aside its order of August 13 that stayed the decision on the gag order and required both sides to submit briefs on three questions.
Broden contends that Judge Matt Johnson, in 54th District Court, issued the gag order, which Broden says was crafted by McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna just minutes before a bond reduction hearing in Johnson's court.
But in his brief Broden claims Johnson didn't have proper jurisdiction because there had been no indictment issued against Clendennen and Johnson stepped outside his jurisdictional boundary when he considered an issue outside the bond reduction question.
Broden appealed the issue to the 10th Court of Appeals, in Waco, asking that court to order Johnson to lift the gag order, which Broden says denies his client the Constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech.
The 10th Court did so but on appeal by the state to the Court of Appeals, those justices stayed the order and required the briefs on the issue.
It was not known Monday if Reyna had filed his brief on the issue and a telephone call to his office had not been returned by mid afternoon Monday.
"Every delay in lifting the gag order continues to deprive Mr. Clendennen of his free speech rights under Article 1, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and plays directly into the state's strategy of filling the public's mind with pictures of 'outlaw biker gangs' and misinformation, then demanding Mr. Clendennen's silence," Broden wrote in his brief.
In closing, Broden wrote: "The district court was not vested with the authority to enter a wholesale gag order completely unrelated to the bond conditions that were the only proper subject matter of its writ jurisdiction."
It was not clear Monday when the state court might reach a decision on the issue.
It’s amazing that the corrupt statists in government continue to get away with their tactic of using gag orders to mislead the public. The statists put out a bunch of FUD that is incorrect and completely misleading then they quickly get gag orders to make sure that the folks the statists are oppressing can’t respond or sometimes even find out relevant information.
By the way, IBTG.
It’s tempting to say when pigs fly but Waco has been getting a lot of very bad press over this so who knows.
In before anyone else! NOT that it matters! ; )
Thanks for the post. Will look forward to FReeper comments.
The police and AG in Waco, the FBI, etc are trying to figure out if they can suround the jail with tanks and set it on fire to cover up the situation.
From reading a Waco TP corral shootout article a couple of days sgo, the BD Compound apparently caught fire all by itsself. It Did.
Well FRiend, mistakes can still be made in Waco. They Can.
September 14, 2015 Clendennen Gag Order Brief to Court of Criminal Appeals
September 14, 2015 Reyna Gag Order Brief to Court of Criminal Appeals
September 14, 2015 Amicus Gag Order Brief to Court of Criminal Appeals by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 24 Media Outlets
September 14, 2015 Amicus Gag Order Brief to Court of Criminal Appeals by Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
I figure there will be a flurry of reporting once the gag order is lifted (assuming it will be, who know what outcome this court intends to justify), then news goes quiet until the "arrest / indictment" clock winds down, and we find out which of the 177 will be indicted. Civil rights suits might well wait until close to the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations in Texas is one year for malicious prosecution, and two years for forcible detainer.
The conclusion is slightly inflammatory. The "Relator" is the DA, Reyna. Reyna's brief argues that the gag order is supported by all sorts of facts and findings - similar to the argument used to assert that the probable cause affidavit cites facts that, if proved, make the accused guilty of the crime.
The trial court's gag order was presumptively unconstitutional. Davenport, supra; Graves, supra. The one assertion that is arguably a finding of fact - that "this" publicity constitutes a "specific threat" - is not supported by any evidence at all. Moreover, the court gave no consideration whatsoever regarding the least restrictive means to achieve a fair trial for the defendant. The order is not narrowly tailored; in fact, it is not tailored at all. In light of the order's sweeping language, the absence of evidence to support it, and its failure to identify any imminent, irreparable harm to the defendant's right to a fair trial, the Court of Appeals was fully justified to conditionally grant the application for writ of mandamus.Relator's refrain that the gagging of his adversary was sought for the charity of the same people his office publicly denigrated has a cynical, self-serving ring. The gag order leaves Relator's public narration unrebutted. This state of affairs does not advance the interest of a fair trial by impartial jurors for the defendant, but it does ensure only Relator's views and its governmental agencies find uncontradicted public expression.
Authoritarian regimes throughout the world spew propaganda while denying any speech which criticizes or contradicts it. There is no meaningful distinction between this foreign political reality and the present circumstance. In either case, views contrary to the prosecutorial machinery are prohibited, leaving the public with only the "official" version of events, spun solely from the government's perspective with an eye toward conviction. The gag order impedes rather than advances the First, Fifth and Sixth Amendment interests involved in a pending criminal case. The only interests it truly advances belong solely to the prosecution.
IBTG. I don’t know how you all read his posts. I feel unclean after only a couple of them. It’s like reading the posts over on DU.
Sure hope this gag order gets lifted so we can start getting some important information.
In reading these threads I’m getting the feeling the feds were in charge and the locals went along with it. Can’t know for sure just yet though.
Thanks again for the clarity!
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